Biography provided by Focal press
 
Klein, an ex-patriot American fashion photographer, filmmaker, designer, and painter has made Paris his home. He enlarged the syntax of photography by courting accident, blur, contrast, distortion, cockeyed framing, graininess, and movement. Rebelled against the 1950s notions of the decisive moment, which included not intervening into a scene, making good compositions, and producing normal looking prints. His images are not those of a detached observer but those of a provocateur. Klein referred to his Life is Good for You in New York — William Klein Trance Witness Revels (1956) as "a crash course in what was not to be done in photography." His other photographic books of cities — Rome (1958-1959), Moscow, and Tokyo (both 1964) — are catalogs of irreverent "mistakes," revolving around aggression. The dynamic and unconventional framing and printing techniques present cities as théâtre noir, emphasizing a sense of anarchy, chaos, and dread of urban life that most people wished to ignore.
 
(Author: RH)
 
Michael Peres (Editor-in-Chief), 2007, Focal Encyclopedia of Photography, 4th edition, (Focal Press) [ISBN-10: 0240807405, ISBN-13: 978-0240807409] (Used with permission)
 
Approved biography
Courtesy of the Victoria & Albert Museum (London, UK)
 
In just three months William Klein produced one of the most renowned books of the 1950's, Life is Good and Good for You in New York: Trance - Witness - Revels. This was intended, he said, "as a monster big-city Daily Bugle with its scandals and scoops that you'd find blowing in the streets at three in the morning." Klein had been a student of the painter Fernand Leger, whose advice had been to "get out of the studio into the streets...to be monumental." Klein's work is monumental street art, far removed from the mainstream documentary style of the fifties. In 1958 Klein turned to film-making, only returning to photography in 1980.
 
This biography is courtesy and copyright of the Victoria & Albert Museum and is included here with permission.
 
Wikipedia
 
Bill, Will, Willy, Willie or William Klein may refer to: William Klein (photographer) (1926-2022), American-French photojournalist and filmmaker Will Klein (baseball) (born 1999), American professional baseball player Willie Klein (1901-1957), American champion golfer Willy Klein (1912-2004), Luxembourgish Olympic gymnast in 1936 Bill Klein (businessman) (born 1948), American high-stakes poker champion Bill Klein, American football end in 1950 NFL draft Bill Klein, American businessman on 2009 TV reality series The Little Couple